The 2022 Tim Horton's Brier at the ENMAX Centre on March 10, 2022. The Lethbridge Curling Club hopes to bring another major curling event to the city. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Group bidding to bring Canadian Olympic Curling Trials to Lethbridge

Mar 17, 2023 | 2:19 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The Lethbridge Curling Club hopes to bring another major sporting event to the city.

Club members attended the City of Lethbridge Economic Standing Policy Committee (SPC) meeting on Tuesday, March 15, 2023.

They requested a commitment of $900,000 in cash and in-kind support from the City of Lethbridge and a letter of support to host the 2025 Canadian Olympic Curling Trials (COCT).

Also known as “Roar of the Rings,” the event will see the top nine men’s and women’s teams competing to qualify for spots on Canada’s Olympic curling teams for the 2026 Winter Games in Italy.

Bidding Committee Co-Chair Mike Mulroy said Curling Canada is requiring a $900,000 bid to be considered as a potential host community. The good news, he adds, is that no money would have to be exchanged until after the event and accounting has been completed.

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The requested funds, if given final approval, would come from the City of Lethbridge’s Major Community Event Grant budget. Including some leftover funds from last year, there is $1,177,000 in the budget for the current four-year cycle.

A city official says another group has also requested $200,000 from the same fund, meaning that if both were given the green light, there would be $77,000 remaining for any future events.

However, many members of the SPC said they believe in the economic and social benefits of the curling trials given Lethbridge’s history with major curling events.

Most recently, the city was host to the 2022 Tim Hortons Brier.

Thanks in part to a $1 million contribution from the City of Lethbridge, the Brier resulted in $16.8 million in economic activity for Lethbridge and $19.7 million for Alberta as a whole.

It was also the first major sporting event that was held at capacity in Alberta after COVID-19 public health restrictions were fully lifted. Mulroy said this helped to restore the public’s confidence that things were getting back to normal.

The Lethbridge Curling Club already has letters of support from several local organizations such as Curling Alberta, ENMAX Centre, Lethbridge Hurricanes Hockey Club, Servus Sports Centre, Lethbridge Sport Council, and Tourism Lethbridge.

The SPC members voted unanimously to send the funding request to city council for final approval.

Bids must be submitted to Curling Canada by June 30, 2023. The host city is expected to be finalized by November 2023.

The Canadian Olympic Curling Trials take place November 22-30, 2025. If Lethbridge is chosen to host the event, it would be held at the ENMAX Centre and Servus Sports Centre.

READ MORE: 2022 Brier generated $16.8M in economic activity for Lethbridge